


What A Glorious Feeling~

by suchanoldcliche



Series: OTP: Steal You Away From the Storm [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe RPF
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, BuckyXan, M/M, Why am I so bad at fluff?, this was supposed to be fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-07
Updated: 2015-03-07
Packaged: 2018-03-16 18:20:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3498188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/suchanoldcliche/pseuds/suchanoldcliche
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes, getting caught in the rain feels like the most miserable experience of your life.</p>
<p>Other times, it can turn a miserable experience into a happy one.</p>
            </blockquote>





	What A Glorious Feeling~

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be fluff, but I'm apparently AWFUL at writing fluff. So, here. Feels/fluff stuff.~

The black clouds looming above him are as dark as his pin-striped suit, and the air around him feels as heavy as his heart. It’s been threatening to rain for hours, and honestly, Xander keeps glancing to the sky and hoping it does; maybe if the sky lets go of some of its pain, he’ll be able to do the same.

It’s been weeks now. Twenty-two days, to be exact. Tony’s death was… God, it took the whole world by surprise. No one saw it coming, _especially_ not Xander. If he’d known, he would’ve finally said something. If he’d known the last time they spoke would’ve been the last, he wouldn’t have held back. He would’ve told him how he felt, instead of keeping it strictly business as always. He was an idiot, taking all that time for granted.

And now Tony will never know.

Walking away from the headstone that bears the last Stark’s name is almost as painful as the moment Xander learned he’d passed, and each step makes his heart sink lower and lower into his chest. Just as he reaches the street corner, he feels it - the first drop of water. The sky’s finally opening up. That’s… good. At least something out here is getting rid of all that built up pressure.

He looks down to the umbrella in his hand and undoes the strap. As he shakes it, he feels more droplets of water drip down the back of his neck, the liquid cold and making him shiver; even the clouds are sad Tony’s gone, it seems. Xander’s not surprised; the man was a genius, after all. Kind, loving, patient, sarcastic, _beautiful_...

As he opens the umbrella up and covers himself with it, the torrential downpour he’s been expecting to happen all day finally happens, and the air around him chills to a cool temperature, causing the boy to shiver again and pull his coat in tighter around his thin torso. It’s not quite cold enough to be snowing yet, but it’s like ice water is being dumped onto his legs, and he’s _really_ not enjoying this day. Not at all.

Stupid funerals. Stupid rain. Stupid Tony, letting his heart condition get out of hand like that.

Xander sighs, looking both ways before walking in the direction of the main road. He’ll just take a cab home; no way he’s gonna walk in this weather. He may be feeling down, but he’s not about to be miserable _and_ wet. That’s just ridiculous.

Of course, he doesn’t get to the corner before he sees another man heading towards him. Actually, “heading” isn’t the right word - more like “rushing.” In fact, he’s running so fast, Xander almost gets knocked over by him. Thankfully, the boy’s a lot stronger than he looks, so when the dark-haired man crashes into him, Xander’s able to stay on his feet despite staggering back a little.

When the stranger lifts his head, he flashes the boy a bright smile. “Didn’t see you there, kid.”

“No kidding,” Xander says, unable to keep himself from smiling back. “Tryin’ to get out of the rain, huh?”

“Yeah. It’s fuckin’ _cold_ out here.”

Without thinking about it, Xander steps closer, lifting his umbrella so it covers them both more. “I know. I was just at a funeral, so I’ve been outside for the last couple hours. It’s only gotten worse since this morning.”

“A funeral? That explains the look, I guess.” The corners of his mouth are pulled down into a frown as he rubs the back of his head. “Sorry to hear that. Family?”

He shakes his head. “No… My boss. Or, well. I didn’t technically work for him. I worked for someone who worked _with_ him.” Xander’s smile widens a little, though it doesn’t reach his eyes. “What d’you mean about my look?”

“You always wear suits like that?” the man asks in return, suddenly grinning like an idiot as he looks Xander up and down.

Normally, being looked at the way this complete stranger is looking at him would make the young agent feel terribly shy. He's not someone who's used to getting any kind of attention. Not really. But, this guy... He doesn’t know what it is about him. What, the fact that he has ridiculously bright blue eyes, even though everything around them is dark (and dreary)? That dazzling, charming smile? (Tony had one like that…) Xander can’t put his finger on it, but he knows he feels _comfortable_ , and that’s… alarming. Especially right now. “Yeah,” he admits honestly, looking down to himself before lifting his head again. “I mean, usually I wear bow ties instead of neckties, but this was… I dunno, I wasn’t really…”

The man nods. He seems to understand, which is good. Really good. Xander doesn’t want to go into detail about all that.

Deciding to change the subject, “You were going in the other direction.” The boy tilts his head. “Did you have somewhere to be? I’m not keeping you, am I?”

“Nah. I just wanted to get outta the rain.”

Don’t let this one go, Xan. “Oh. ‘Cause, um… I was gonna go to a coffee shop. Wait the storm out. There’s one that’s, uh… i-it’s right down the road.” Flashing the man his most confident smile (which doesn’t really do much, considering his heart is suddenly hammering away like crazy in his throat), he chimes, “You wouldn’t wanna join me, would you?”

And it’s like Xander flipped a switch in the guy’s head, because he goes from smiling to beaming in two seconds flat. “I’d love to.”


End file.
